June/July Newsletter

06/01/2010 08:21

FROM THE PASTOR

As I am getting pumped up to go to the Detroit Annual Conference, I am listening to one of my favorite CD’s, Kiri Te Kanawa singing Italian Opera arias, what a beautiful voice. There are some great voices out there in the Opera land (Not the Grand Ole Opera) and we have lost some. I shed tears when I heard that Luciano Pavarotti had died, what a voice. I thought who would take his place as my favorite Operatic Tenor. Well it is Andrea Bocelli, what a talent. He is Blind, is an accomplished pianists, and also plays the flute. I am sure there are others that are great tenors, like Jose Carreras. Carreras likes to sing not only Operatic music, but show tunes and other popular music. Carreras is one of the original “Three Tenors”. There are not many Operas sang in English. Yes, I don’t understand Italian but I can still enjoy the music. Listening to classical music is soothing to me. I also enjoy music from some of the great show tunes, like Showboat, Carousel , Les Miserable , South Pacific. When I listen to show tunes I try to picture what is taking place as I understand the language and I know the story in most cases. But I would have to say my favorite music is Gospel music. I really enjoy the Southern Gospel quartets, especially the older quartets. I know most of the songs they sing and I can sing the base part with them. I am trying to adjust to the newer gospel quartets. I enjoy the Gaither Vocal Band, some great talent there. I enjoy Elvis, his Gospel music and some of his popular music. So what about Country music? Well, I do enjoy some of the older Country-Western singers but the new group seem to be more Country Rock. A few of the Old Country western singers that I could listen to are Ferlin Huskey, Jim Reeves, Charlie Pride (I had coffee with him) Reba McIntyre and of course the great Patsy Cline. And then there is Roy Rogers, Gene Autry. Being able to sit back and listen to music and as I said earlier it is soothing to me, well it is the same when I read Scripture, especially the New Testament. I read and then I can sit back and silently thank God for the life of Jesus. Yes, he died for me, for you, for all of us and your sins and my sins past, present and future are forgiven. And you know it doesn’t cost anything. All we have to do is to believe. As it says in Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved”. Whether it listening to music or reading Scripture take the time to enjoy both, know that I do. Peace

In His Service,

Pastor Don

Birthdays and Anniversaries

JUNE

1John/Lynn LaRose

3 Pam Tallman

4 Robert Morrow

9 Jim Gaffney

10 Janet Helmbold

10Scot/Lisa Holmberg

12 June Stubbert

14 Thomas Burge Jr.

14 Holly Way

15Norm/Marla Jahn (25)

15 Bill Morden

17 Theodore Burson

18 David Gardapee

18 DJ Peterson (16)

18 Tegan Lawrence (6)

22 Emily Blount

22 Jordan Carlson

23 Van Mueller

24 Eugene Johnson

25 William Tufnell

26 Gloria VanKlompenberg

28 William/Charlotte Rohring

29 Al/Pat Duyck (25)

30 Norman/Sharon Feichtenbiner

JULY

1 Don/Polly Bedwell

1 Sally Winn

2 William/Lynne Giles

4 Shirley Westphal

5 Frederick Prater

5 Ron Annelin

7 Sandra Houghton

10 Mike/Shannon Rochon

12 Sandi Kolder

17 Eleanore Weber

17 Connie Whitsitt

19 Donna Morden

19Bill/Shirley Westphal

22 Dayne Way (2)

22 Micah Way (2)

25 Michael Nagy

26 Thomas Burge

MEMORIAL GIFTS

In Memory of Stan and Evelyn Grimes for music given by:

Mr. & Mrs. Mark Grimes

*****************

A gift to cover the deductible for the parsonage repair given by:

Anonymous

Thank you to Carol Weinert and Al Duyck for filling in on May 23rd.

Thank you to Vic and Sharon Vanderville for cleaning up the church grounds and planting flowers.

Thank you, Choir

For the beautiful music on Sunday mornings,

For your dedication in attending rehearsals,

For inspiring us to lift our hearts, minds and voices in singing praises to our Lord,

Choir, we thank you!

Women's News

—Carol Weinert

Spring is finally here and you may have noticed the three yellow tulips blossoming in front of the shrubbery facing North Cedar Street at our church. The Marquette District UMW began a new tradition at the District meeting a few years ago to give a yellow tulip bulb in memory of each member who died in each unit in that particular year. These blooms at FUMC are in memory of our departed sisters Helen Hall, Blanche Morden, and Vivian Hagman.

Summer is almost here and our United Methodist Women’s group is winding down activities following a busy winter and early spring. After the Naomi Circle meeting Wednesday, June 2 at 1:30 PM and our monthly visit to Medicare on Monday, June 7, at 10 AM, we will take a break and skip July meetings.

Don’t write off the entire summer, however, for plans are in the works for our annual summer luncheon meeting to be held Wednesday, August 4, in Fellowship Hall of the church. We will begin the day’s program with a "Planned Picnic" lunch at noon. A World Renowned (almost) grill chef will prepare the entree and there will be plenty of fixings to round out the meal. We will again invite the women from other area UMW units to be our guests and we encourage you to invite guests as well. This would be a good time for those of you who are not currently active in our UMW to come and check us out. You will be heartedly welcomed!

The program will be presented by Kelly Beaudry of Voices for Youth. This "mission" has recently been launched in Manistique and has been helping troubled and "displaced" youth in our community for about a year. Plan now to come and learn about this important program right here in our area. We encourage you to bring cleaning items, paper products,hygiene items (for both male and female)and food staples to this meeting to help meet some of the needs of this organization. Items brought to the meeting will be credited toward our Unit’s In-gathering project for 2010.

I hope many of you are working on completing your goal in the UMW Reading Program. There has been some confusion about what the requirements are pertaining to reading the magazines.

Response and New World Outlook . Phyllis Burge informed me that those completing Plan I need only read the Response. Those doing Plans II through IV must regularly read both publications. The complete details of the requirements are listed on the back of the Reading Program leaflets found on the UMW bookshelves.

********************

Our UMW Ladies Circle had a rollicking good time at Medicare on Monday morning, May 3rd. Norma Johnson lead an “old fashioned” Sunday School class, complete with sign language, songs with motion, bible verses and prayer. The residents accompanied the songs with musical instruments. Favorite songs were “Jesus Loves Me”, “This Little Light of Mine”, “I will make You Fishers of Men”, “Zacheus” and “Be Careful Little Eyes, Ears, Mouth, Hands and Feet”. Norma was assisted by Mary Prater, JoNell Rubick, Janet Helmbold, Ruth Annelin, Martha Weeks, Eileen Renton and Phyllis Burge. Approximately 20 residents attended and left smiling.

Please join us if you can—we have different roles that are needed and we enjoy it as much as or maybe more than the residents. Call Phyllis at341-6454.

It has been brought to my attention that we need to call an executive meeting to discuss the future progression of our pasty program. Costs are constantly increasing, sales are dropping dramatically and our woman-power is fading. The meeting will be held following the Sunday service on June 6 and those expected to attend are President Carol Weinert, VP Janet Helmbold, Treasurer Darlene Pruess, Secretary Connie Whitsitt and chairpersons Sharon Feichtenbiner and Louise Burson. Other interested UMW members may also attend. Please come with your suggestions. The pasty program has always generated needed income for monthly church programs as well as for camp scholarships. This giving may have to be greatly reduced if we continue to have pasty sales unless we can come up with workable solutions.

LAY LEADER LINES

Q: In my opinion, all ministers are hypocrites. They stand up in front and preach about all the things we should and shouldn’t do, but they aren’t perfect , either. What gives them the right to judge us?

A: In my experience, most ministers are fully aware that they aren’t perfect! Many ministers preach to themselves when they preach to congregation. That is, they are often talking to the church about those very issues which they know need improvement in their own lives, as well as in the lives of those in the congregation. They are not judging you; in fact, they are more likely to be judging themselves. Ministers generally feel that they are in this business of being a Christian at the same level you are—an imperfect human who wants and tries to do better, but often fails in the attempt. You may find that what separates you from your minister is only a job description, not a list of character traits or some sort of superior holiness. He or she may be trained as a minister and have that title, but the minister is every bit as fallible, vulnerable, and yes, sinful as the members of the congregation. It is usually true that a minister has had a calling to enter the ministry which has not been issued to lay persons, and as part of that calling, is expected to live as an example of what a Christian should be. (EVERY Christian is actually called to do this!) You can be sure, however, that no minister has been called because he/she is a perfect person. All are called because, despite imperfections, God for whatever reason wants that person to serve in that capacity. He may have a different field of service in mind for you, but He is not waiting until you are perfect before calling you to it. Likewise, He does not seek only perfect people to be His ministers, because He knows full well that He would have no ministers if He did!

This year’s theme is Galactic Blast. Cosmic adventure focusing on praising our wonderful, incredible, amazing, magnificent and awesome God. This combination of faith and fun will bring children into a closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It will be held June 21-25 from 2 PM to 4:30 PM. A special noisy offering will be collected the first 2 weeks of June. It will be used to offer public transit to children that cannot walk the distance to church. We have hopes this will encourage more children to attend. We appreciate anything you can donate.

A list of craft items and snacks will be in the church office for those of you that prefer to donate in those areas. Please call 341-6662 for details.

Spotlight on Missions

– Norma Johnson

Missions Coordinator

Safe and Secure in South Africa

Ted Warnock is a General Board of Global Ministries’ missionary serving as missionary for special projects for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

In Johannesburg, South Africa, more than 800 men, women, and children huddle next to each other every evening, looking for a place to sleep. Finally, they have found a welcome home where they are protected from the struggles that refugees face as they try to find a new life.

The Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, South Africa, has transformed its place of worship into a different kind of sanctuary, one that provides refuge for displaced people from various countries. Refugees come to Central Methodist Church hoping to find a secure environment for themselves and their children.

With numerous families occupying Central Methodist Church, the need for education became apparent. Despite seemingly overwhelming obstacles, the Albert Methodist Church (formerly St. Paul’s School) in Johannesburg has opened its doors to 60 refugee children. Most of these children are orphans who have found refuge in the sanctuary. Led by refugee teachers and an administrator from Zimbabwe and with the help of Bishop Paul Verryn, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, this school, which was shut down by the apartheid government in 1958, has renewed its mission.

God has blessed this ministry by providing assistance through the South African Methodist Volunteers in Mission, World Mission Possible (a non-profit agency located in Texas), and Rotary International’s local district in Bedfordview, South Africa. Rotary’s local district has a warehouse of free educational books and school supplies to promote literacy and assist with the education of children.

Chelsea’s Gift

Pam Buzbee is a United Methodist Volunteer in Mission working with Mountain T.O.P., a mission organization dedicated to rural ministry in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee.

Chelsea is nine years old, the big sister of an eight-year-old brother. She and her brother sleep in bunk beds in a 7 ft x 12 ft room they share. A team prior to ours added another room to the side of their house to create two small bedrooms for Chelsea and her brother. One of our jobs on the first day at Chelsea’s house was to hang drywall in the children’s bedrooms. Although her brother’s was done first, Chelsea didn’t complain.

The second day, when we started putting the drywall up in her bedroom, she shyly asked if she could help. She was so excited that her room was almost completed and shared plans of painting it light purple and decorating it like a girl’s room.

One day Chelsea gathered walnuts and sat on a concrete slab in her yard, broke them open with a hammer, picked out tiny pieces of nut meat with a nail, and placed them in a small plastic toy dish. Then she offered each of us volunteers some nuts.

Accepting Chelsea’s gift, I realized that I have been given the gift of Jesus Christ, the love and fellowship of a family and a church community, and more blessings that I can count. Do I serve others because I “owe” that back to God? I don’t see it that way.

The gratitude I feel for what I’ve been given is why I give of myself, not because I “should,” but because I can’t help but express my gratitude through doing.

For Our Prayerful Consideration

Let us continue to lift one another in daily prayer. Here is a prayer guide to help you.